Please let me first point out that I know she is not of the Boomer generation. I’ll get to that later.

According to the article’s author, Brian Proffitt, we need to “Put away the cozy image of the little old lady knitting a sweater for the grandkids, or the distinguished gentlemen playing chess in a park, because the newest elder generation is not going to sit quietly in a rocking chair.”

What he means is that many Boomers are not as traditionally minded as many of us have come to expect, but are, in fact, technologically savvy early adopters. Citing Dr. Karen Riggs who wrote, “Granny @ work: Age and technology on the job in America,” Proffitt explained that Boomers saw “the exploding rise of technology in the workplace just as they were entering their mid-30s and -40s. This is why so many Boomers are technologically adept despite not having grown up with technology.”

According to Proffitt, this technical aptitude distinguishes Boomers, defined as anyone born between 1946 and 1964, from their ancestors of the Silent Generation (1927-1945) and the Greatest Generation (1900-1926).

As for their motivation, “Their adoption of technology tends to be of necessity, especially now that Boomers find themselves competing with Generation X (1965-1983) and Millennials (1984-2002) in the workplace,” said Proffitt.

“We are expected to at least learn some of the basics of computers at the office,” said Riggs. But for the older generations, “a lot of people were left behind.”

Those of you who did the calculation will know that our 70-year-old, let’s call her Sarah (she prefers that her real name not be used), is of the Silent Generation. (Yes, I asked her about her age. Shame on me, I know.) Her story adds something that was not revealed in the RWW article – regardless that she may not have had to use technology as much in her personal life and the workforce as subsequent generations, especially early on in her career, she is feeling the pressure to compete with Gen X and Millenials today, just like the Boomers. And although she doesn’t want anything at all to do with it, she has been teaching herself about digital media for the last 11 years out of necessity, just like the Boomers.

The story

I’ve been regularly offering digital media counsel as part of my volunteer duties at The Well, a gathering place for women. After a recent meeting, fellow volunteer and IT veteran, Sarah, pulled me aside and asked if I could share some basic knowledge of social media that she could then apply to help her son run his small business.

“Veteran” has become a loose term to describe someone with senior expertise in a vocation. Indeed, this woman has been working with computers for more than 40 years. Now retired, she continues to provide computer support in various volunteer positions around the city.

She explained that she began her programming training in the early 70’s but, having spent 70 hours per week focusing solely on national mainframe computers, admitted that she didn’t have much time to learn much else until she retired. As a result, she had no real exposure to the Internet or personal computers until 2001.

“When [my son] came to me for help, I didn’t know what I could offer at first,” said Sarah. “I sat down with him and asked what the heck this Internet thing is all about. He said, ‘Ask me anything,’ and I asked him about Komodo Dragons. Don’t ask me why. Within a few seconds and keystrokes he brought up all kinds of information. It was like a ton of bricks fell on my lap and I realized there was no turning back after that. I saw the potential and began teaching myself.”

While still reluctant to learn any of this “stuff,” she knew she would have to dig her teeth into digital media sooner or later for her son’s sake, who’s strapped for time as the sole owner/employee of a full-time business.

She explained that her son’s role at a former company was downsized some years ago, just at the start of the recession. And, like so many others in their 40′s, he was unable to find work. So, like many others, he decided to start his own small business. But it’s tough being a “solopreneur” and he quickly found that being a one-man company is a two-person job, and he was caught in the familiar trap of desperately needing an extra body but not having the money to pay for one. So, Mom stepped in to help.

She knows how to set up a blog and website, but social media continues to baffle her. Upon her request, I agreed to sit down with her for a long chat one Sunday afternoon to go over some core concepts.

“I have zero interest in tweeting and facebooking and all that. I have no interest in any of this. I really, really don’t,” she said. “I’m doing this because I see business value in it, and I think it will help my son.”

The learning curve was steep despite her technical background and that she had spent a great deal of her own time going over the basics. But she listened intently and tried very hard to make sense of and retain the necessary information.

“I realize this is the norm for today’s generation, and for those to come it will be as natural as breathing. I get the point, but it’s a steep climb for me.”

That she is doing it is inspirational. Despite the learning curve and that she has absolutely no personal interest whatsoever in these channels, she sees the business value in them and is gritting her teeth to learn how to use them to help her son build his small business.

Francis Moran and Associates is an associated team of seasoned practitioners of a number of different marketing disciplines, all of whom share a passion for technology and a proven record of driving revenue growth in markets across the globe. We work with B2B technology companies of all sizes and at every life stage and can engage as individuals or as a full team to provide quick counsel, a complete marketing strategy or the ongoing hands-on input of a virtual chief marketing officer.

Francis Moran is principal of Francis Moran & Associates, a consultancy that provides business-to-business technology ventures with the strategic counsel required to make their innovations successful in a highly competitive marketplace. Francis can be reached at Francis@Francis-Moran.com.